YOU ASKED FOR IT

Somebody told me it was frightening how much topsoil we are losing each year, but I told that story around the

campfire and nobody got scared.

—Jack Handy

July 30, 2014CARDS, TRUCKS & MEN ON PINTEREST

BRAND OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAYFrom my random collection of info sources, here are some highlights related to the brands of our times...

• According to StatisticBrain.com, Hallmark produces 10,000 new card designs every year. A lesser known fact is that every Hallmark TV commercial produces a 73% spike in Kleenex sales. (heh, heh...not really.)

• BrandChannel reports that Ford and Ram are quarreling this week over who can tow more. Ford says the F-450 can haul 31,200 pounds, making the case that it’s 1,200 more than Ram. Ram says it’s not apples to apples. All

that matters to me? Is there room on the back window for my “pee on Chevy” sticker.

• So the Los Angeles Clippers have finally been cleared for sale to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. I’ll bet you won’t find the Mac guy talkin’ smack with the PC guy NOW...when the PC guy is Blake Griffin!

• Ad Age reported that Dirt Devil is upping its ad spending game, having spent as much in Q1 of 2014 as they

did in all of last year. Sister company Hoover is spending more, too—$25.8 million from January

to April this year, compared to $60 million in all of 2013. I personally haven’t seen the ads yet...just hope they don’t “suck”.

• Pinterest announced that they’re looking to attract more men to the online platform. Step 1: More pictures of bacon.

JIM HUEBNERj i m h @ h u e b n e r p e t e r s e n . c o m

C E L L U L A RT E L E P H O N E970-420-3382

Hmmm.

Brought to you by popular demand of a client, my mom, and some folks I met at a church potluck

From the remaining gray matter of Jim Huebner

Information that will make you smile, groan or think...

Another ad I wish I’d done!

Photo courtesy of yfnjman.com

Photo courtesy of sayitwithbacon.com

© 2014 Hmmm by Jim Huebner

Looking for innovation success? You’d better have good dealers.

...and on its way to the HuebnerPetersen blog...! PAGE2

I ran across a really interesting article yesterday from the Marketing Science Institute’s website. It was titled:

Innovation Success: The Overlooked Role of the Retailer

The article was written by four university marketing professors, and it started out this way...

“Despite the billions of dollars spent on new product development and related marketing activities by national-brand manufacturers, it is the retailer who is the gatekeeper to consumers. Not only do they selectively grant access to their shelf space, their shopper-marketing activities in terms of price, promotions, and assortment composition together with their retail context are key drivers for an innovation’s subsequent performance at their outlets.”

While the focus of the article was on consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and their retailers, it certainly applies to durable goods manufacturers, too. The researchers found that the retailer actually plays a major role in the success or failure of

any product innovations the manufacturer introduces to the market.

The reason HuebnerPetersen decided to focus on building brands and marketing programs for manufacturers

years ago was precisely because of this phenomenon. We found that the corporate marketing department can make the best laid marketing and brand-building plans in the world, but if they don’t have the buy-in or an answer to “what’s in it for me?” for the local dealer...it may all be for naught.

Here’s a good example...

Years ago, one of our clients introduced a new standard feature that revolutionized the

customer experience with their product. But had they added the feature and not had the dealers jumping for joy over it, it may have only seen mediocre success. Instead, with marketing materials behind it, sales training around it, and an international sales event featuring it, it contributed to a banner year for that client...and they couldn’t have done it without the dealers.

But, as the article points out, it’s not just ANY dealers that will help provide success for the manufacturer.

The researchers found that the STRENGTH of that local retailer’s brand is also a critical piece of the puzzle. The stronger the “RBBE” (retail banner’s brand equity), the more success they experience and the higher margin they can command. If a retailer/dealer in a local market has a weak reputation or “brand”, the article states that promotions and more competitive pricing are necessary. Probably not the preference for most manufacturers.

So what’s the formula to seeing product innovation succeed at the consumer level? It’s pretty darn simple...

1) Strong corporate brand.

2) Above average marketing support from corporate at the local level.

3) Strong reputation of the retailer/dealer in their local market.

Now...start innovating!

Jim Huebner is President of HuebnerPetersen Integrated Marketing.The firm was established in 1989 and specializes in making companies heroes to their distribution channels through strategic brand positioning, integrated marketing, and front lines marketing services. You can reach Jim at jimh@HuebnerPetersen.com or on LinkedIn. For “Hmmm” archives, CLICK HERE

WORDS TO

LIVE BY

...forgetting what lies

behind and reaching

forward to what lies

ahead, I PRESS ON

toward the goal for the

prize of the upward call

of God in Christ Jesus.

–Philippians 3:13b, 14 (NASB)

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